


Where He Belonged

by onlyhereforellick



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, post ep 18x06, semi sequel to indestinatus’ Return To Sender, steamy almost smut?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:27:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29309559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyhereforellick/pseuds/onlyhereforellick
Summary: Things Ellie CAN’T know:2. That one recurring dream about her on the beach.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	Where He Belonged

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Return to Sender](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29219307) by [indestinatus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/indestinatus/pseuds/indestinatus). 



> follow up on that recurring dream about Ellie on a beach from Sofia’s fic 😘 go read her masterpiece first!!! (it picks up where hers left off so it truly won’t make much sense unless you do ☺️)

Scrolling through the endless movie options, Nick heard the shower turn on and the weight of the day began to settle on his shoulders. Leaning back on his side he continued his half-hearted perusal, mind wandering as his ear refused to tune out Ellie’s noise in the bathroom. He could hear the curtain pulled open and shut, hear the interruption of water hitting the ceramic tile as her body presumably dipped under the spray. And the white noise of the steady stream of water running, cleansing the heaviness of the day from her tired body, quickly and unknowingly pulled him into a slumber- arms crossed, above the covers slumber.

He saw the twinkle lights first, strung up along the back patio. Voices murmured excitedly around him as glasses clinked in celebration of something. His eyes focused on the scene in front of him- the team, together on a warm summer night in Gibbs’ backyard. Who put these twinkle lights out was his gut reaction, because surely it hadn’t been gruff old Gibbs. Nick shook his head and tried focusing again, the fog of a dream state slowly thinning. His eyes found Ellie from across the lawn almost immediately. She was chatting with Delilah, her figure enveloped in a floor length white summer dress that managed to accent her curves, yet flow from her body like an ocean breeze. She laughed at something Delilah said and the sound brought an instant smile to his face, strong enough to reverberate into real life through his sleep. He even found himself chuckling along despite not hearing what she had heard. Ellie’s laughter was infectious to him- even across a lawn.

As if she felt his gaze, her eyes lifted from Delilah and met his, gracing him with a not-so-subtle wink and he felt the familiarity of it. She practically floated on air over to him after a quick aside to Delilah who just directed a knowing smile to him. As she approached, her hand extended and Nick met it with his, seamlessly twirling her in greeting. A move that seemed so comfortable to them and the team in his dream. Another round of tinkling genuine laughter reached his ears as his eyes took in the spinning white fabric of her dress.

That sight slowly morphing into white, translucent fabric rippling in the ocean breeze. Sounds of Ellie’s laughter traveling across the salty air as his head turned to take in the sight of a crisp, pearlescent aqua beach in front of him.

He recognized it instantaneously. His private beachside cabana recurring dream. For a brief second he missed the effortlessness of the backyard party dream- knowing what this dream had in store for him. It never changed, the outcome was always the same. The only details that every now and then altered were in regards to whatever case had brought Nick and Ellie—solely as partners—to those picturesque beaches of the northeastern Brazilian coast.

But Nick also knew _exactly_ what awaited him in this dream, and in the end- he didn’t mind letting it play out. He deserved a little enjoyment after a long day.

His head turned to take in what he already expects: Ellie’s wearing a thin white coverup, buttoned twice at her natural waist- just enough to let his imagination roam as to the smooth skin hiding beneath. Big, dark sunglasses adorn her smiling face as her hair frames it in luscious golden waves. Her teeth capture her bottom lip as she tries to hold back another chuckle at the book she’s reading, nestled snuggly atop her one bent leg. That damned toned and tanned leg that caused her coverup to fall down to the curve of her hip, teasing Nick’s control and professionalism. It’s always there and yet it always gets him. He always desperately wants to run his hands down from that crooked knee along her exposed thigh, tucking nicely into that bent hip.

Like usual, Nick attempted to refocus on his own book through his dark RayBans but hears her shift beside him. He can hear her turning away from him on the large chaise lounger, feet hitting the sand as she reaches down to her bag.

He knows he can’t seem obsessed, besides they’re partners. Despite her growing commotion, he refuses to look away from his book- until of course, her voice drifts over to him asking for help with that hard to reach spot on her back. Finally turning, Nick takes in her completely exposed upper back. The coverup dropped, resting on her elbows as she holds a bottle of suntan lotion up in her left hand, head turned just slightly to indicate she’s speaking to him and not the invisible cabana boy.

Nick gulped, a movement he likely mirrored in his sleep. Taking the bottle, Ellie speaks again, this time more clearly to his dreaming ears, “Don’t be shy, Nick. Rub it well, I can’t chase a guy with a sunburn.”

Nick grits his teeth at the innuendo she likely didn’t even notice, bringing his hand to her back and holding back the curse he wants to let loose at the feeling of her supple skin underneath his calloused hand.

“Even under the strap, Nick, come on,” she insisted much to his dismay.

And so his hand dips under that tiny black strip she calls a strap to rub in her lotion. The tiny string akin to the string holding his entire willpower together, his whole being eternally grateful she’s turned away from him during this battle.

Through gritted teeth, Nick indicates he’s done and passes her back the bottle over her shoulder. And once again, despite knowing the exact events bound to take place, when she rises from her seat, coverup still hanging down the middle of her back and sighs deeply- breathing in the salty ocean air, Nick feels a lightning bolt to his crotch. He imagines her sighing like that after he cherishes her body, and that is a thought he can’t afford to have on a case. Not privy to his mental detour, Ellie deposits her sunglasses on the gray cushion and shakes out those honey-wheat waves. He sees her more than he truly hears her saying something over her shoulder about how she’s going to take a quick dip to cool off.

Her cover up has dropped to her feet before Nick can think and the sudden warm temperature has nothing to do with the afternoon sun heating his skin.

This part of the dream always seems so real, like she’s so close he could reach out and touch her without waking up.

Her arms reach above her head as she stretches and turns slightly, giving Nick a delectable view of her entire profile and his mouth immediately goes dry.

Yet she doesn’t even spare a glance at him before sashaying down the short expanse of cream white sand to the crystal clear blue-green water. Nick can’t manage to pull his eyes away until she stops suddenly and his instincts fire up on high-alert.

Every time it’s the same, every time- even when he knows how this dream ends, it’s the same.

Ellie stops and Nick fears the worst, that she’s seen whatever suspect they’re down there to catch while Nick’s ogling her perfectly round backside in that tiny black triangle that she claims helps her “fit in” with the dress code on Brazilian beaches.

Every time all R-rated thoughts cease and he drops his book to his lap, spine open, leaning up in his seat from their lounger. And every time when she slowly bends down at the hips, Nick freezes from his fight or flight response. His mind only able to form one thought- immense gratitude for the book placement and that once again she’s facing away from him.

Unconsciously he takes his sunglasses off in awe as her bending accentuates her barely covered ass. His hand twitches as he envisions himself behind her, giving it a resolute smack for other- reasons. And then ever so slowly, every single dream, she unfolds, taking some object from the sand with her and Nick audibly exhales, embarrassed at the direction of his thoughts and resultant situation underneath a book that he now can’t pick up.

His chest rises and falls quickly as he attempts to settle himself but Ellie always chooses that moment to gracefully glide into the water, making her way purposefully deeper until she pauses and disappears below the calm waves.

She’s gone for longer than Nick expects despite reliving this dream several hundred times, and his heart races at the scary thought that intrudes. His breathing becomes shallowed even in his sleep as he panics about her trapped below.

But like a damn siren, she breaks through the crystal surface of the water, suddenly facing him. It’s like time slowed and crawled in front of him, it’s his favorite part of the dream. Each second taking infinitely, blessedly longer as Nick is quite literally physically unable to pull his eyes from her gorgeous, sparkling form in the glow of the Brazilian sun.

Nick, like a man without water in a desert, drunk her all in unabashedly—it’s _his_ dream any way.

Eyes closed, head tilting back as the sun beats down on her golden skin. Hair slicked back from the water, neck extended that begged for lips to taste it. Ellie continued to slowly lift herself from the water and Nick felt his jaw involuntarily drop. Her arms down by her sides as her chest expanded with her first full deep breath after being underwater so long. He watched the movement hungrily as those matching black triangles hanging from her chest teased him even from afar, the glistening curves they attempted to hide calling his name. His eyes traveled down her flat, toned stomach as she finally stood up straight, reaching that impossibly small final triangle covering her front. And as she lifted her hands to wipe her face, running back through her hair, Nick swore under his breath- his hand moving on its own accord to try and release the growing pressure he felt below. Under the book but over his now tight trunks and yet his grip did nothing to assuage the undying urge he felt for this practical goddess in front of him.

His dick throbbed in time with each of Ellie’s delicate steps out of the water, seeing those long, dripping wet legs carrying her sexy body to him. Somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind he knew he had to get control over this situation, she was his partner, they were here for a case. But every time in his dream state, Nick found it hard to care. His hand never left it’s position, the book at least somewhat covering its true reason in his lap.

Ellie glanced lazily around the beach while she continued her journey towards him. Each step bringing her body into finer focus. Every curve, every defined muscle, every water droplet traversing the length of her- a tease to him. He longed to be one of those droplets, making its way from the hollow of her neck, through her cleavage, down past her belly button, disappearing into her suit below. His tongue darted out to wet his lips at the thought.

When she’d stopped at the edge of the cabana, chest moving evenly with a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, Nick realized his dream shifted.

This was the part where something interrupted him, he’d always eyed her hungrily from afar, desperately wanting her closer for him to touch, to taste that salty water across her warm sun-kissed skin. But even in a dream he was never allowed that far. Somehow, something interrupted her catwalk back to him and he’d wake up.

But not tonight.

She’d made it to the edge of the lounger with a matching hungry look in her eyes.  
His hand still hadn’t released his tight grip on his painful erection, and he watched as her eyes flitted down to that exact spot. They didn’t move and her own tongue made its way along her plump lips, wetting them as if in anticipation. Nick felt his insides heat- but not from shame, he could feel her desire coursing from across the small stretch of space. When her eyes made a slow, slow journey up his shirtless chest to settle back on his face, locking eyes with him, Nick felt the air seize in his lungs.

He was acutely aware of every minuscule detail of this new, improved version of his dream—the gauzy white cabana fabric fluttering in the breeze offering a semblance of privacy, the way each rivulet of ocean water took a slow, languid journey down her body, the sound of calm, lapping waves the only noise on the empty private beach.

Time stopped as Ellie finally spoke low and sultry like a smooth whiskey running down his throat, eyes only leaving his as she gave a pointed look to his hand placement at the end of her question, “Well, what are we gonna do about _that_?”

Nick involuntarily pumped his hand slowly under the weight of her stare and he swore he saw her pupils darken. A small piece of his mind broke through the dream state as he noticed why his dream had shifted. Ellie’s new words a direct echo of words he’d spoken only hours prior to today. His recurring dream finally experiencing a breakthrough just like they had in that jail cell. But his small piece of awareness surely quieted by his dreaming mind as Ellie began to bend over, hands finding the soft cushion of the chaise below his feet. He had a perfect display of her chest and based on the smile growing on her face, it was purposeful.

Her knee was the next to join the party on his side of the chaise and then suddenly Ellie was crawling towards him. Over his legs until her face was inches from his. Now-cooled water dripped from her body onto his, hitting his heated skin and releasing steam similar to how he was feeling from their sudden closeness.

Her hands moved the book away- tossing it to the far side of the lounger as her eyes once again drifted to take in his hand still firmly gripping himself. As she shifted her knees even further up, Ellie looked back to his face, deliberately lowering herself right into his lap. His hand finally moving in sync with her body as they instinctually rested on her hips.

Her warm, wet from the ocean, center sat right on top of his growing erection and his fingertips curled into the sweet, smooth skin, thin string ties of her bikini coming along for the journey.

Nick had yet to say a word, speechless- even in a dream.

Ellie brought her hands up along either side of his head, leaning on his tense shoulders that relaxed instantly under her touch.

Her pensive yet sultry look darkened the longer she stared at him. Her mouth parted slightly as if she was choosing her next words carefully. And in a whisper she tried again, “I said—“ grinding her hips down, her core causing painfully pleasant friction on his erection, “what are we going to do about that?” And with a falsely innocent flutter to her eyelashes, Ellie cocked her head at him to punctuate her inquiry.

Nick’s growl escaped his chest just as his fingers deftly untied the pretty little bows sitting at her hips, hands shifting further back to each grab a handful of ass. Ellie’s head fell back as a moan traveled across her lips, leaving that neck open and ready for tasting. Nick felt himself lean up into her body, mouth finally finding its target- that sparkling hollow of her neck. The salt of the seawater mixed with lavender perfume and a hint of coconut suntan lotion tingling his tongue as her fingers dove into his short hair and he licked his way down to the curve of her heaving chest.

Nick’s one hand decided to take a detour further down, diving beneath thin, black fabric to find Ellie dripping wet—and not from her trip to the ocean.

As his fingers languidly explored her wet folds, he heard an accompanying moan come from her- the pleasure coursing through it ready to drive him further until he realized the realness to it.

A sharp turn to his dream and they were suddenly on their sides lying down, facing each other. Nick’s hand still on Ellie’s hip but her eyes were closed and a smile splayed across her lips as another small moan sounded from her chest. The cabana morphed into a dimly lit room with a peachy gold hue, akin to Ellie’s skin in his dream.

Nick’s eyes adjusted and he began to recognize the familiar appearance of Ellie’s room. The bathroom doorframe, eclectic nightstand, and...Ellie. Her sleeping form under the blanket incredibly close to him, one leg comfortably tossed over his. Nick—doing as much as he could to not move and ruin this precious moment of Ellie with her guard down, face peacefully sleeping, something he was sure hadn’t happened the entire week—didn’t move a single muscle as he glanced down as his own hand resting on her hip, just like in his dream. Right along the elastic of her soft cotton white pajama shorts, reminiscent of that damn white coverup in his recurring dream. When another tiny moan sounded from her closed throat as her body shifted impossibly closer to his- something that after _that_ dream, he really, really didn’t need her to get too much closer unless she was ready for _that_ wake up call.

Nick’s eyes roamed over her face, taking in every curve, every freckle, every strand of hair falling across her closed eyes. His mind wandered as he savored this early dawn, walls-down moment—remembering her guarded expression when he brought up the letter. Remembering when his fears were confirmed by her vague answers. Remembering the moment he realized he didn’t care. If that letter said what he figured it said, good. It meant she knew. She knew how important she was to him and how much she’d all but invaded every living, breathing second of his life- in the best way.

A lone sunbeam finally broke through her bedroom curtains, illuminating the little reading corner and desk she’d created- so fitting for her. The floating dust particles highlighted in the room drew his eyes to an instantly familiar piece of worn, folded paper propped on her bookshelf.

His letter.

He could get all the confirmation he needed to know _exactly_ what he wrote in that letter to her. Ellie was sleeping peacefully, and it even seemed like it was left out just for him.

His fingers twitched on her hip at the thought of cementing what he already knew it contained, the slight movement stirring Ellie just enough. A murmured, “Nick,” sounded and he froze. But her body shifted again, head tucking into his chest as her leg wrapped more soundly over his hips. The movement drawing her entire front flush with his, causing his hand to fall over her torso, hugging her warm body to his own. When her chest continued to rise and fall rhythmically against his chest Nick knew she was still soundly asleep.

And as he buried his nose into the hair atop her head and inhaled her fresh lavender shampoo, he knew the letter could wait. This- this is where he belonged.

He closed his eyes once more, knowing his dream may not come again, but it didn’t matter.

Because Ellie in his arms?

Well, his reality was _finally_ better than any dream he would ever have.

**Author's Note:**

> pardon the grammar switches from past to present tense, this got confusing at times to write and I gave up 😅


End file.
